599 Children & the Law (Ashley)

LAW599

Children & the Law

(Ashley)

Prerequisite courses: 

Prerequisite for:

Instructor(s): Professor Florence Ashley

Course credit: 3

Method of presentation: Seminar

METHOD OF EVALUATION

Written work, approx. 75%; participation, approx. 25%

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The law’s relationship to children and youth is defined by ambivalence. At times, the law emphasizes youth’s maturity to punish them for violating the law or afford them agency over their own life. At other times, it stresses their immaturity to deny responsibility for their actions or justify differential treatment for protective purposes. Can we reconcile these sentiments and, if so, how? This course will explore how the law relates to children and youth as social agents across a wide variety of topics including family law, constitutional law, health law, criminal law, evidence and procedure, and more. Throughout the discussion-based seminar, students will develop a critical understanding of the legal governance of childhood and gain insights into how to better serve the interests of children and youth as burgeoning agents. The course will have interdisciplinary elements, drawing on materials from critical theory, sociology, psychology, and medicine in addition to law. Students will be evaluated based on student participation, short critical commentaries, and a final paper worth 60% of the course grade.

SPECIAL COMMENTS

Description updated 2024-25. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.

REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY)

All readings will be available digitally.